Kaempferol Alleviates Corneal Transplantation Rejection by Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Macrophage M1 Polarization via Promoting Autophagy

Author(s):  
Huiwen Tian ◽  
Shumei Lin ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
Ming Ma ◽  
Jian Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Corneal transplantation rejection remains a major threat to the success rate in high-risk patients. Given the many side effects presented by traditional immunosuppressants, there is an urgency to clarify the mechanism of corneal transplantation rejection and to identify new therapeutic targets. Kaempferol is a natural flavonoid that has been proven in various studies to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and neuroprotective properties. However, the relationship between kaempferol and corneal transplantation remains largely unexplored. To address this, both in vivo and in vitro, we established a model of corneal allograft transplantation in Wistar rats and an LPS-induced inflammatory model in THP-1 derived human macrophages. In the transplantation experiments, we observed an enhancement in the NLRP3 / IL-1 β axis and in M1 macrophage polarization post-operation. In groups to which kaempferol intraperitoneal injections were administered, this response was effectively reduced. However, the effect of kaempferol was reversed after the application of autophagy inhibitors. Similarly, in the inflammatory model, we found that different concentrations of kaempferol can reduce the LPS-induced M1 polarization and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Moreover, we confirmed that kaempferol induced autophagy and that autophagy inhibitors reversed the effect in macrophages. In conclusion, we found that kaempferol can inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasomes by inducing autophagy, thus inhibiting macrophage polarization, and ultimately alleviating corneal transplantation rejection. Thus, our study suggests that kaempferol could be used as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of allograft rejection.

Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunpeng Wu ◽  
Yan Yuan ◽  
Huihui Yu ◽  
Xin Dai ◽  
Shu Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract The diversity of the human microbiome heralds the difference of the impact that gut microbial metabolites exert on allogenic graft-versus-host (GVH) disease (GVHD), even though short-chain fatty acids and indole were demonstrated to reduce its severity. In this study, we dissected the role of choline-metabolized trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the GVHD process. Either TMAO or a high-choline diet enhanced the allogenic GVH reaction, whereas the analog of choline, 3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol reversed TMAO-induced GVHD severity. Interestingly, TMAO-induced alloreactive T-cell proliferation and differentiation into T-helper (Th) subtypes was seen in GVHD mice but not in in vitro cultures. We thus investigated the role of macrophage polarization, which was absent from the in vitro culture system. F4/80+CD11b+CD16/32+ M1 macrophage and signature genes, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, CXCL9, and CXCL10, were increased in TMAO-induced GVHD tissues and in TMAO-cultured bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMDMs). Inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome reversed TMAO-stimulated M1 features, indicating that NLRP3 is the key proteolytic activator involved in the macrophage’s response to TMAO stimulation. Consistently, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and enhanced NF-κB nuclear relocalization were investigated in TMAO-stimulated BMDMs. In vivo depletion of NLRP3 in GVHD recipients not only blocked M1 polarization but also reversed GVHD severity in the presence of TMAO treatment. In conclusion, our data revealed that TMAO-induced GVHD progression resulted from Th1 and Th17 differentiation, which is mediated by the polarized M1 macrophage requiring NLRP3 inflammasome activation. It provides the link among the host choline diet, microbial metabolites, and GVH reaction, shedding light on alleviating GVHD by controlling choline intake.


Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Yu Hu ◽  
Yaguang Wang ◽  
Dapeng Shen ◽  
Guizhou Tao

Increasing evidence has shown that NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and pyroptotic cell death play vital roles in the pathophysiology of myocardial infarction (MI), a common cardiovascular disease characterized with cardiac dysfunction. C-type lectin member 5A (CLEC5A) is reported to strongly associate with activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis. In this study, in vivo MI model was established by the ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery on male C57BL/6 mice, and CLEC5A knockdown was further achieved by intra-myocardial injection of adenovirus delivering shRNA-CLEC5A. CLEC5A was found to be highly expressed in left ventricular of MI mice, while CLEC5A knockdown conversely alleviated the cardiac dysfunction in MI mice. Besides, MI-induced classical activation of macrophages was significantly inhibited after CLEC5A silencing. Additionally, CLEC5A knockdown dramatically inhibited MI-triggered activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, pyroptosis and NF-κB signaling in left ventricular of mice. In vitro experiment further validated that CLEC5A knockdown suppressed M1 polarization in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, and inhibited the polarized RAW264.7-induced activation of NLRP3 inflammasome/pyroptosis signaling in co-cultured cardiomyocytes. In conclusion, CLEC5A knockdown protects against the MI-induced cardiac dysfunction by regulating macrophage polarization, NLRP3 inflammasome and cell pyroptosis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahabuddin Ahmed ◽  
Samir Ranjan Panda ◽  
Mohit Kwatra ◽  
Bidya Dhar Sahu ◽  
VGM Naidu

Abstract Several activators of NLRP3 inflammasome have been described; however, the central mechanisms of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in brain microglia, especially at the activating step through free radical generation, still require further clarification. Hence the present study aimed to investigate the role of free radicals in activating NLRP3 inflammasome driven neurodegeneration and elucidated the neuroprotective role of perillyl alcohol (PA) in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson’s disease. Initial priming of microglial cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) following treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induces NF-κB translocation to nucleus with robust generation of free radicals that act as Signal 2 in augmenting NLRP3 inflammasome assembly and its downstream targets. PA treatment suppresses nuclear translocation of NF-κB and maintains cellular redox homeostasis in microglia that limits NLRP3 inflammasome activation along with processing active caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18. To further correlates the in vitro study with in vivo MPTP model, treatment with PA also inhibits the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and downregulates the NLRP3 inflammasome activation. PA administration upregulates various antioxidant enzymes levels and restored the level of dopamine and other neurotransmitters in the striatum of the mice brain with improved behavioural activities. Additionally, treatment with Mito-TEMPO (a mitochondrial ROS inhibitor) was also seen to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome and rescue dopaminergic neuron loss in the mice brain. Therefore, we conclude that NLRP3 inflammasome activation requires a signal from damaged mitochondria for its activation. Further pharmacological scavenging of free radicals restricts microglia activation and simultaneously supports neuronal survival via targeting NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in Parkinson’s disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengxiao Chen ◽  
Qi Bai ◽  
Yanting Wu ◽  
Qiongzhen Zeng ◽  
Xiaowei Song ◽  
...  

Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot is a traditional medical herb that has been used for a long time in China and other Asian counties. Essential oil is the main active fraction of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot, and its anti-inflammatory potential has been observed in vitro and in vivo. Here, we found that the essential oil of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot (EOAA) inhibited monosodium urate (MSU)- and nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation. EOAA suppressed caspase-1 and IL-1β processing and pyroptosis. NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and translocation were also inhibited. In addition, EOAA suppressed nigericin-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation without blocking ASC oligomerization, suggesting that it may inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation by preventing caspase-1 processing. Our study thus indicates that EOAA inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation and has therapeutic potential against NLRP3-driven diseases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianjie Zhu ◽  
Shiyou Dai ◽  
Baohua Xia ◽  
Jianbao Gong ◽  
Bingzheng Ma

Abstract Background:Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint bone disease characterized by cartilage degradation. Visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin) is associated with the inflammatory and metabolic responses to OA. However, the underlying mechanisms of the pathological process of OA are not clear. The aim of the present study was to examine the protective effects of vaspin both in vitro and in vivo.Methods:Monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced Wistar rat model of OA was used to assess the in vivo effects of vaspin administered for 12 weeks. The characteristics of OA were evaluated by haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and safranin O/fast green staining. The anti-inflammatory effect of vaspin was assessed using immunohistochemical, qRT-PCR, and western blotting analysis. Parallel experiments to detect the molecular mechanism through which vaspin prevents OA were performed using LPS-treated chondrocytes.Results:Our results showed that the degeneration of cartilage and upregulated expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and MMP-13 were ameliorated by vaspin. Additionally, vaspin suppressed the activation of TXNIP/NLRP3 and secretion of tumor necrosis factor ɑ and interleukin-1β in vivo. It was further confirmed that vaspin could also suppress LPS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and reduce collagen formation in chondrocytes. Moreover, vaspin inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation by suppressing the ROS/TXNIP pathway.Conclusions: Vaspin inhibited OA by repressing TXNIP/NLRP3 activation in in vitro and in vivo models of OA, thus providing a novel therapeutic strategy for OA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Leng ◽  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Xinran Liu ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  

Long-term exposure to high glucose induces vascular endothelial inflammation that can result in cardiovascular disease. Astragaloside IV (As-IV) is widely used for anti-inflammatory treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of As-IV on high glucose-induced endothelial inflammation and explored its possible mechanisms. In vivo, As-IV (40 and 80 mg/kg/d) was orally administered to rats for 8 weeks after a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg/kg). In vitro, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with high glucose (33 mM glucose) in the presence or absence of As-IV, NPS2143 (CaSR inhibitor), BAY 11-7082 (NF-κB p65 inhibitor), and INF39 (NLRP3 inhibitor), and overexpression of CaSR was induced by infection of CaSR-overexpressing lentiviral vectors to further discuss the anti-inflammatory property of As-IV. The results showed that high glucose increased the expression of interleukin-18 (IL-18), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), NLRP3, caspase-1, and ASC, as well as the protein level of TLR4, nucleus p65, and CaSR. As-IV can reverse these changes in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, NPS2143, BAY 11-7082, and INF39 could significantly abolish the high glucose-enhanced NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-18, and IL-1β expression in vitro. In addition, both NPS2143 and BAY 11-7082 attenuated high glucose-induced upregulation of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-18, and IL-1β expression. In conclusion, this study suggested that As-IV could inhibit high glucose-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequent secretion of proinflammatory cytokines via inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway and CaSR, which provides new insights into the anti-inflammatory activity of As-IV.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 741-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Ding ◽  
Tingyan Liu ◽  
Xiao Bi ◽  
Zhiling Zhang

Background/Aims: Growing evidence suggests mitochondrial dysfunction (MtD) and the Nlrp3 inflammasome play critical roles in chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. We previously reported that Aldosterone (Aldo)-induced renal injury in vitro is directly caused by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS)-mediated activation of the Nlrp3 inflammasome. Here we aimed to determine whether a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant (Mito-Tempo) could prevent Aldo-induced kidney damage in vivo. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were treated with Aldo and/or Mito-Tempo (or ethanol as a control) for 4 weeks. Renal injury was evaluated by Periodic Acid-Schiff reagent or Masson’s trichrome staining and electron microscopy. ROS were measured by DCFDA fluorescence and ELISA. MtD was determined by real-time PCR and electron microscopy. Activation of the Nlrp3 inflammasome and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) was detected via western blot. Results: Compared with control mice, Aldo-infused mice showed impaired renal function, increased mtROS production and MtD, Nlrp3 inflammasome activation, and elevated ERS. We showed administration of Mito-Tempo significantly improved renal function and MtD, and reduced Nlrp3 inflammasome activation and ERS in vivo. Conclusion: Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants may attenuate Aldo-infused renal injury by inhibiting MtD, the Nlrp3 inflammasome, and ERS in vivo. Therefore, targeting mtROS might be an effective strategy for preventing CKD.


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